With enthusiasm & focus, Jack runs around the backyard with his lacrosse stick. At 8-years-old, he’s completely hooked & pretends to be his favorite elite lacrosse player, Paul Rabil. Mom & Dad witness his passion daily, offering ultimatums each night to make him come inside for bedtime. This kid loves his sport.Playing sports for Mom and Dad’s generation was easy: go to town hall on sign-up night, pay a small fee to cover uniform costs, & play locally all summer long!

Such programs or leagues are hard to find these days. Jack & his parents will have many questions come next season’s registration deadline: Do we pursue an “elite” travel team with huge time & financial commitments? Can we piecemeal a summer schedule of camps & clinics? Are the costs reasonable? Why are ‘tweener’ programs few & far between?

Why isn’t this as easy as Little League baseball used to be? Isn’t there a Pop Warner league or something? No. It isn’t easy anymore. Why? Because all youth sports communities are broken!The question I’ve been trying to answer since becoming a trainer is, “How can I help fix our kids’ sports community?”To answer the question, I examined my own experiences. As a youth athlete, I participated in local community leagues and “elite” travel teams. I made it through to competitive high school & college levels.

Sure does look like 'bull', doesn't it?

What I remember most from those early years: being rewarded for my participation. I have a Rubbermaid bin full of these awards in my basement.

Competition has been devalued. Why has this happened?Young athletes are terrified to fail because they’re expected to be “elite.” When they’re not “elite,” rather than inspire them to persevere and become better, we award their existence, not their accomplishments. This segregates young athletes too early and is what makes sports unfair.

Competition is fair & exists only when a skilled player is challenged by a less-skilled player…or vice versa. Competition does not exist when all of the “elite” players migrate to “all-star” teams at too young an age. I keep air-quoting “elite” because elite, in youth sports, is fictional. Peyton Manning, Lebron James, Hope Solo, or one of my personal favorites, Marshawn Lynch, are elite players. Let’s face it: very few athletes make it to the elite level.

So what is “elite” in youth sports, you ask? A league, team, or program that calls itself “elite” is selling (at astronomical costs) the illusion of higher levels of play. Elite in youth sports is a reflection of a family’s economic ability and willingness to travel & spend time at tournaments, practices, and games. And this is bullshit.Method 360 Sports coaching is designed to solve the problems in youth sports. By teaching your kids how to comfortably fail, it can then happen naturally in front of their teams or peers or coaches. I do not pat kids on the back & re-assure them everything they did was perfect. They have skills to develop. They have egos to drop. They have fundamentals to learn.

I do not award kids for making it through 30 minutes of repetitive principles. They have a long road ahead if they want to become elite. I endorse rudimentary training: fundamentals are not easy to master & will challenge perseverance in a young athlete. They provide a foundation to maybe reach a true elite level.So, what if your kid never reaches the elite level or doesn't care about being ‘elite’? Does your kid need to build confidence? Learn teamwork? Fail gracefully? Build resiliency? Have fun? These are life skills for success, not just elite sports skills.

Essentially, sports & survival of the fittest are parallels. Some athletes are born to be elite & some have to continuously adapt to achieve, just like in real life. If we continue to segregate skill levels with pseudo-elite programs, we will continue to sever the communities that make youth sports fun. Ultimately, if your kid isn’t having fun, it doesn’t matter what type of program you invest in for them because they won’t be around long enough to earn the participation award. We have an amazing community at M360; do you think we can restore community to youth sports? I’m gonna try like hell to lead this small, local effort. But I need your kiddos to make it happen. I want to train your kids to feel like elite is possible, on and off the field.

Read more about our new Method 360 Youth Sport Training program here & contact us if you're interested in setting up a training session for your daughter or son!